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will show wonders in the sky above, and signs on the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and billows of smoke. The sun will be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and glorious day of the Lord comes. It will be that whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved.’
Acts 2:19-21
Acts 2 [14.] But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and spoke out to them, “You men of Judea, and all you who dwell at Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and listen to my words. For these aren’t drunken, as you suppose, seeing it is only the third hour of the day. But this is what has been spoken through the prophet Joel:
Acts 2 [17.] ‘It will be in the last days, says God,
that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh.
Your sons and your daughters will prophesy.
Your young men will see visions.
Your old men will dream dreams.
Yes, and on my servants and on my handmaidens in those days,
I will pour out my Spirit, and they will prophesy.
I will show wonders in the sky above,
and signs on the earth beneath;
blood, and fire, and billows of smoke.
The sun will be turned into darkness,
and the moon into blood,
before the great and glorious day of the Lord comes.
It will be that whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved.’
Acts 2 [22.] “Men of Israel, hear these words! Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved by God to you by mighty works and wonders and signs which God did by him among you, even as you yourselves know, him, being delivered up by the determined counsel and foreknowledge of God, you have taken by the hand of lawless men, crucified and killed; whom God raised up, having freed him from the agony of death, because it was not possible that he should be held by it.
Meaning:
Peter has quoted Joel’s promise that God would pour out his Spirit on all flesh (Acts 2:17-18). He continues the quotation to its climax. Joel spoke of signs in heaven and on earth before the great day of the Lord, and of salvation for everyone who calls on the Lord’s name. These lines move the sermon from the gift of the Spirit toward its real goal: calling the crowd to be saved.
- “I will show wonders in the sky above, and signs on the earth beneath”
Joel wrote, “I will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth: blood, fire, and pillars of smoke” (Joel 2:30). Peter’s wording adds the words “above”, “beneath” and “signs”, so that the prophecy speaks of “wonders” and “signs.” A few sentences later he describes Jesus as a man approved by God “by mighty works and wonders and signs” (Acts 2:22), and Luke soon reports that “many wonders and signs were done through the apostles” (Acts 2:43). The same God who will shake the heavens was already at work on earth.
- “Blood, and fire, and billows of smoke”
These images recall God’s great acts in Israel’s history: the plagues of Egypt, the pillar of fire and cloud, and the smoke on Mount Sinai when “Yahweh descended on it in fire” (Exodus 19:18). In the prophets they become pictures of God coming in judgment.
- “The sun will be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood”
The prophets often used the darkening of sun and moon to describe the day of the Lord. Isaiah wrote, “The sun will be darkened in its going out, and the moon will not cause its light to shine” (Isaiah 13:10). Jesus used similar words about the time of his coming (Matthew 24:29), and John saw the sun become “black as sackcloth” and the moon “as blood” (Revelation 6:12).
Christians understand the fulfilment of these signs in different ways. Some point out that only weeks earlier, at the crucifixion, “darkness came over the whole land” and “The sun was darkened” (Luke 23:44-45), and that Pentecost brought wind and fire; they see Joel’s words as already beginning to be fulfilled. Others hold that the cosmic signs still lie in the future, just before Christ returns. Still others read the language as a vivid prophetic picture of great upheaval when God acts. Many combine these views: the last days began with Christ and the Spirit, and they will end with the visible day of the Lord.
- “Before the great and glorious day of the Lord comes”
Joel called it “the great and terrible day of Yahweh.” It is the day when God steps into history to judge evil and save his people. Peter later writes that “the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night” (2 Peter 3:10).
- “Whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved”
This is the heart of the quotation. In Joel, the Lord is Yahweh: “whoever will call on Yahweh’s name shall be saved” (Joel 2:32). By the end of his sermon Peter declares that God has made Jesus “both Lord and Christ” (Acts 2:36). To call on the name of the Lord now means to call on Jesus. Soon Peter would tell the council, “neither is there any other name under heaven, that is given among men, by which we must be saved!” (Acts 4:12).
The promise is wide open: “whoever.” Paul quotes the same verse and adds, “For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, and is rich to all who call on him” (Romans 10:12-13).
The Significance of Acts 2:19-21
- The day of the Lord is coming
The signs remind us that history is moving toward a day of judgment. God is patient, but that day will come. Every person needs to be ready.
- Salvation is offered to all
Before that day comes, the door of salvation stands open to anyone who calls on the Lord Jesus in faith. No one is too far away, too sinful or too ordinary to be saved.
Cross-References:
Joel 2:32: "It will happen that whoever will call on Yahweh’s name shall be saved;" Joel’s promise.
Romans 10:13: "Whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved." Paul applies the verse to all who believe.
Luke 23:45: "The sun was darkened, and the veil of the temple was torn in two." Darkness at the cross.
Conclusion: Peter completed Joel’s prophecy with its signs in heaven and earth before the great day of the Lord. Whatever view is taken of the timing of those signs, the climax is clear: whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. Peter would soon show that this Lord is Jesus, and the invitation still stands open to everyone.
PIB Scriptures are derived from the World English Bible